With September here and minor league seasons over, we turn our prospect attention to breaking down the top talents in each division. We always start with the teams in the East, so let's change it up and start with those in the AL West.
We break down the top five prospects for each organization for 2008, taking into consideration: games, at-bats, innings and major-league service time. We expect these players to have rookie status remaining heading into next year.
According to MLB rules: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list)."
L.A. Angels of Anaheim
| Top Angels prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Brandon Wood | 22 | 3B/SS | Triple-A: .272 AVG, 23 HR, 77 RBI, 73 R, 10 SB (.338 OBP, .497 SLG) |
| His 120 Ks and inconsistency keep him from being an elite guy perhaps. | ||||
| 2 | Nick Adenhart | 21 | RH SP | Double-A: 10-8, 3.65 ERA, 116 Ks, 65 BB, .273 BAA |
| A so-so season has tempered expectations; he'll enter '08 in Triple-A. | ||||
| 3 | Hank Conger | 19 | C | Class A (combined): .289-11-51-35-9 (.333-.466) |
| He is arguably the top long-term catching prospect in the minors now. | ||||
| 4 | Sean Rodriguez | 22 | SS/OF | Double-A: .254-17-73-84-15 (.345-.423) |
| There's pop here for an infielder, but he comes with K baggage, too. | ||||
| 5 | Sean O'Sullivan | 20 | RH SP | Class A: (10-7)-2.22-125-40-.227 |
| We wouldn't be surprised if he whipped past Adenhart next year. | ||||
| Best of the rest: OF Terry Evans, P Luis Mendoza, P Nick A. Green, 2B Ryan Mount, C Bobby Wilson, OF Matt Sweeney, SS Hainley Statia, P Stephen Marek, 1B Mark Trumbo, P Rich Thompson, P David Herndon, P Barret Browning, OF Nick Gorneault, P Young-Il Jung. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility (expected): OF Reggie Willits, P Dustin Moseley, C Jeff Mathis. | ||||
Oakland Athletics
| Top Athletics prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Daric Barton | 22 | 1B | Triple-A: .293-9-70-84-3 (.389-.438) |
| Numbers don't suggest he'll be any better than, or as good as, Dan Johnson. | ||||
| 2 | Trevor Cahill | 19 | RH SP | Class A: (11-4)-2.73-117-40-.220 |
| '06 second-rounder is a rare A's draftee out of high school -- a wise one. | ||||
| 3 | Landon Powell | 25 | C | AA-Triple-A (combined): .292-14-42-49-1 (.385-.525) |
| Numbers are good enough to think he could push for a job next spring. | ||||
| 4 | Dan Meyer | 26 | LH SP | AA-Triple-A (combined): (8-2)-3.39-107-55-.247 |
| Once the key piece of the Tim Hudson deal, Meyer's back as a late bloomer. | ||||
| 5 | Henry Rodriguez | 20 | RH SP | Class A: (6-8)-3.07-106-58-.214 |
| Remains a little wild, but he has knockout potential that others don't have. | ||||
| Best of the rest: P Andrew Bailey, C Anthony Recker, P Jerry Blevins, 2B Kevin Melillo, OF Javier Herrera, OF Richie Robnett, P Justin Simmons, 1B Sean Doolittle, P Vincent Mazzaro, P Jared Lansford, OF Danny Putnam, SS Cliff Pennington, P Jason Windsor, OF Jermaine Mitchell, P Chad Lee, OF Matt Sulentic, P Shane Komine, P Conor Robertson, SS Josh Horton, OF Grant Desme, OF Corey Brown, P Sam Demel, P Travis Banwart, 2B Justin Sellers. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility (expected): OF Travis Buck, C Kurt Suzuki, P Dallas Braden, P Santiago Casilla, P Jay Marshall, P Andrew Brown, 2B/SS Donnie Murphy. | ||||
Seattle Mariners
| Top Mariners prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Adam Jones | 22 | OF | Triple-A: .314-25-84-75-8 (.382 OBP, .586 SLG) |
| Had a great season before not doing much for M's; but likely a starter in '08. | ||||
| 2 | Jeff Clement | 24 | C | Triple-A: .275-20-80-76-0 (.370-.497) |
| Resurgent prospect blocked with M's, but best C prospect in baseball. | ||||
| 3 | Wladimir Balentien | 23 | OF | Triple-A: .291-242-84-77-15 (.362-.509) |
| Jones might be a better prospect, but Balentien might have more pop. | ||||
| 4 | Robert Rohrbaugh | 23 | LH SP | AA-Triple-A (combined): (13-8)-3.12-111-47-.258 |
| Lefty made one of the biggest jumps in status with steady numbers. | ||||
| 5 | Carlos Triunfel | 17 | SS | Class A (combined): .296-0-39-51-7 (.333-.367) |
| Numbers won't wow you yet, but he's a 17-year-old Dominican SS. | ||||
| Best of the rest: P Phillippe Aumont, 1B Bryan Lahair, 3B Matt Mangini, 2B Yung Chi Chen, P Tony Butler, P Mark Lowe, P Chris Tillman. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility (expected): P Ryan Feierabend, P Brandon Morrow, P Eric O'Flaherty, P Ryan Rowland-Smith, P Sean White. | ||||
Texas Rangers
| Top Rangers prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Edinson Volquez | 24 | RH SP | A-AA-Triple-A (combined): (14-6)-3.67-166-60-.190 |
| We've waited for him to finally harness knockout stuff; now he has? | ||||
| 2 | Chris Davis | 21 | 3B | A-Double-A (combined): .297-36-118-90-2 (.347-.598) |
| Breakthrough slugger might be able to replace lost Mark Teixeira pop. | ||||
| 3 | Taylor Teagarden | 23 | C | A-Double-A (combined): .310-27-83-94-2 (.426-.586) |
| Big-time U. of Texas star finally hit stride in pro ranks; can he catch? | ||||
| 4 | Kasey Kiker | 19 | LH SP | Class A: (7-4)-2.90-112-41-.237 |
| Long term we like his chances to star over all of Texas' pitching prospects. | ||||
| 5 | Eric Hurley | 22 | RH SP | AA-Triple-A (combined): (11-9)-4.00-135-55-.227 |
| Rangers SP prospects are cursed, but perhaps this one can make it. | ||||
| Best of the rest: 2B German Duran, C Max Ramirez, P Luis Mendoza, P Michael Main, SS Elvis Andrus, P Matt Harrison, OF Julio Borbon, P Omar Poveda, OF John Mayberry, P Armando Galarraga, P Thomas Diamond, P Neil Ramirez, P Tommy Hunter, SS Joaquin Arias, OF David Murphy, OF Engle Beltre, P Doug Mathis, 3B John Whittleman, P Bill White, P Jesse Ingram, P Omar Beltre, P Beau Jones, P Josh Rupe, P Francisco Cruceta, C Chad Tracy, OF Anthony Webster, 2B Jose Vallejo, C Guillermo Quiroz, P Neftali Feliz. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility (expected): C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, P Kason Gabbard, 3B Travis Metcalf. | ||||
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to dmfantasybaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: AL West prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.
